This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Audio/Visual: sound, color

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: doowopbob - - April 16, 2009
Subject: For Shame....
How We Gonna Make Wine If They Keep Running Around Cutting The Nuts Off Grapes....!

Reviewer: Marysz - - September 2, 2004
Subject: Breakfast from a Box
In this early sixties ad, three boys and a girl play chaotically while the announcer touts Grape-Nuts as “energy flakes.” The announcer isn’t giving the usual hard sell; his voice has a friendly and insinuating tone. Even though the ad is directed towards mothers, we don’t see them in the ad. Why? Because at that time, mothers still felt guilty if they didn’t make their families a full breakfast of hot oatmeal or bacon and eggs. But the friendly announcer is letting mom off the hook. It’s OK to give your kids breakfast cereal out of a box because it’s “whole wheat” and gives kids “energy.” The Pillsbury Cake Mix ad in the Archives is similar to this one—only the kids are messily eating a birthday cake made from a mix, with an equally (and possibly the same) unctuous announcer. Mom’s missing from that commercial, too. If the ads had actually shown a mother pouring cereal out of a box or making cake from a mix, the (older) female audience would have condemned her as being not only lazy, but also as a bad mom. This could also be why animations were so often used to sell convenience foods like these.

The use of “energy” as a selling point for the cereal is interesting. The Sunbeam Bread ads also tried to sell themselves as giving kids energy. Where kids really so tired then? Or was that they only sales pitch the advertisers could think of? Nowadays, a group of kids like the ones in this ad might be considered hyperactive. Ritalin, anyone?

Reviewer: trafalgar - - March 16, 2004
Subject: interesting editing
Interestingly edited spot with a jazzy score, for an almost beatnik feel. Seems like they let the new kid at the ad agency loose on this one...
By the way, this is the second film I've noticed here ("Naturally...A Girl" being the other) that has a totally false review by FP about pre-pubescent nudity. FP, is there anything you want to tell us? Please get some help if you need it...

Reviewer: Spuzz - - March 4, 2004
Subject: Why, a duck?
This is the first time I've ever seen Post Grape Nuts being shilled on kids... Oh well, it was the 60's. This is actually an amazing ad filled with kids dancing, (check out the indian costumed kid in the back), kids playing and uh, a duck (why is there a duck?) All of this is frenetically edited to a jazz score and it's QUITE well done. Highly reccomended!

Reviewer: AliceTeeple - - February 22, 2004
Subject: the energy flakes!
Yes, children, eat these delicious energy flakes and you will soon be sliding backwards, quacking like a duck and having film footage of you stopped and reversed annoyingly!!! ENERGY FLAKES! Yuk.

Reviewer: caveat - - August 23, 2003
Subject: Not quite!
I'm tempted to ask what that last reviewer was smoking, but I'm sure he had had the purist of motives...

Despite the description this is a classic example of an old BW cereal commercial. As for European influence, you'll have to look elsewhere for that!

Reviewer: -FP- - - July 12, 2003
Subject: European influence?
Yes, from a more innocent time in the USA, a commercial with frolicking, naked children. Perhaps the director was a bit too progressive...